Leaps and bounds

A month. It might as well be a hundred years. Freia has only been with us for a month, and I can’t even remember what life was like before she got here. So much has changed and happening in the past month. And I am not just talking about adding another person to our family. It feels like our entire family has changed since she arrived. Leaps and bounds for all of us.

First smile

We went from having this tiny little family that sleeps and eat all the time, to a baby girl that is getting more and more aware every day. We even got our first smile a few days ago The sweetest, cutest little smile. My heart just melted that day.

The girls have embraced having their little sister around – I guess embrace is not the right world…..they ran to it! They had been waiting for their little sister for so long. And the minute she arrived, it’s like they already new about how to be the wonderful little sisters that they are. Well, we had to teach them a thing or two, like “Don’t step on your sisters head, Olivia!” or “Madeline don’t you put that lollipop in your sister’s mouth!”….little details you know But overall, all that love, they already had it ready for her. Such nurturing little girls I have.

And I, well, I’ve been learning to balance having 3 little girls. Which, to my surprise, is much easier than I thought. I am growing in my role as a mother, learning to be present when I need to and let go when necessary – which happens a lot nowadays. The girls have gained so much confidence since Freia arrived. I watch Madeline in the morning as she walks out the door in the morning carrying her lunch box, and I am amazed to think that in the fall she’ll start pre-school. I swear she was still in my belly yesterday. Time gets blurry.

And Olivia – she started writing on her own! The other day I found her at the table – she had picked up a book and decided to copy the letters in it…all on her own! Such a big girl. So we’re encouraging her that way. Can’t believe that in the near future I’ll have a little girl that can read and write.

Of course the past month hasn’t been without it’s challenges – physically as I’ve had some post birth issues, minor but tiring. How tiring? Well, so tiring that indeed I forgot how to write my own daughter’s name when I took some pics to celebrate a 1-month birthday – see pic below Oh. And I posted the picture on facebook without noticing it. The shame of it. Ha! This woman needs sleeps. And I am not the only one – big changes in the house means that everybody is more tired…and mmmm, let’s say, a bit fussy. Tantrums much? Yes, Olivia, you do have to eat your food……..

So what do we do? Well, we slow down. Take a deep breath. And try to focus on what the things that matter – our time together. Especially 1 on 1 time. Last weekend hubby took Olivia on a big girl date, and while Freia was sleeping I made paper princesses dress with Madeline. We had such a blast. Having more to balance has made me rediscover how important every minute that I spent with my kids is.

So we’re tired, yes. And sometimes things get challenging. yes. But in the end, being challenged is the only way to grow, right? We rise up to those challenges, and our lives get better for it. I am so so SO glad that we decided to add another child to our little family. Sure, things were easy and comfortable before that, and we could have chosen to stick with it- nothing wrong with that. But I feel so good having one more little person to love and care for and watch as she grows.

Turns out, I had a lot of space left in that little heart of mine. And then some Seems like that little heart also grows leaps and bound with each sweet little girl that comes to our life.

PS: Please forgive the typos – I am sure there are many! Like I said, this girl —> tired. All pics taken with my iphone and edited with the VSCOcam app. Follow my Instagram feed: @thislittlestreet

Oh, this made me shed a tear…maybe because we are to add another girl to our tiny family too or it’s just hormones (I am to give birth in 2 weeks). I totally love this blog of yours! All girls, pics and typos are so lovely

Sweetness! Love it! That baby hammock looks perfect! Of course they don’t sell those here. Love the paper dress on Madeleine…she makes a cute and funny model. You really make it seem so easy…and I know it isn’t!

haha, well, I have to say – it’s been easier than I thought it would be. It’s not easy every moment of the way, and we’ve got our share of craziness and hectic moments. But so far, the good outweighs the bad – hands down xx

What a lovely family you have ! And how I understand/experiment every single word in your post Those will be the good old days, no matter how tiring and hard it suddenly becomes sometimes.
I so totally agree with you about not even remembering how it was without this little new member in the family.. like you, I keep trying to find balance, sometimes it works so well and it’s bliss, making me realise it’s so easier than we’d thought… sometimes it all fails and I keep telling myself tomorrow’s another chance to live a lovely day and great little moments.
I love this post ! Your pictures are so great, I wish I had that skill really ! I love them all, and particularly the look on Freia’s face on the first picture: so little and so determined already
You do a wonderful job !!!

Ju so so sorry it took me so long to reply to this lovely post – last week was insane for us! Not because of the baby, but loads of unforeseen things coming our way. All good in the end – just crazy! Anyway, you are too sweet. I am trying to be a good mama – as you know too well, some days I feel like a champ, and others, well, I wonder if I am cut for this at all But like you say, there is always tomorrow, and the tough moments make you appreciate the lovely ones Hope all if well for you at home! xxxx

Hi Karmen! You can find most of the sources in the post about her nursery here: http://www.thislittlestreet.com/blog/2014/05/21/freias-nursery/ The crib sheets are from Olive and Andrew on Etsy, but unfortunately it looks like her shop is no longer open, not sure why. Her purple blanket, I made it a few years back when Madeline was born with fabric I bought in Denmark. The white blanket she’s on with her sisters is from Ikea. Hope this helps! oh, and her fox swaddle blanket is from Lucky Palmtree and it’s the best – organic cotton and so so soft!

I just stumbled across your blog and saw this post. It is so sweet and totally made me tear up. I am currently 23 weeks pregnant with our 3rd little girl. My other two are 6 and 4 and growing so fast and both so excited to meet their little sister. Could be the hormones but I definitely shed some tears reading how sweet your post is.

Audrey, I just found your blog via Ohthelovelythings. What a lovely post. Bless you for writing this amidst your sweet little chaos right now. That photo of you with Madeline, you look gorgeous. Sleepy, but gorgeous, haha! All the best!